The Keeper of the Books
by MorganBaggins
Summary: What would happen if a young lady stumbled into the Keeper of the Books- the one who is charged with protecting all the fictional characters and their worlds? What would happen when there is a terrible storm that throws these characters from their worlds?
1. The books

What happens when a young woman stumbles upon the Keepers of the Books- those with the power to control stories and the characters with in them? And what happens when there is a terrible storm that throws many of these characters from there homeland and into the hands of two naive girls and crazy old woman?

**AN: This story was just something my friend and I came up with late one night when we had nothing better to do. I wrote it a few years ago, and I'd never really done anything with it, so I decided it was about time some one read it other than me! I own all the characters in the first chapter, but soon they will meet up with quite a few lovable characters that, sadly, do not belong to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

The year was 2004, and as it was summer, many of the children had been sent into the country to visit their relatives. Lillian Tonks was among these people. She was quiet, clumsy, and forgetful in her normal nature, and after many hours of riding on an over crowded train, her head was slightly foggy. Therefore, it was not much of a surprise that she got off at the wrong stop.

After waiting quite a while and seeing no signs of another train, she noticed an old house on a hill not too far away. Hoping they may have a phone, or at least an explanation for where she currently found herself, she headed towards it.

There was no answer. After a moment she knocked again. A noise sounding much like the scatter of children from a game of tag came from with in. Soon after, she heard the door beginning to open, and did so to reveal the face of a lady not much younger than herself.

"Oh... Hello." The girl said, stating it as more of a question while examining Lillian with a confused face.

"Hi." Lillian replied quickly, "I'm sorry to bother you. But I'm lost, you see, it's a rather complicated story, but I don't have any idea where I am and I'm not quite sure how to find my way home, and a storm's coming, and it would be a bother to be stuck in it, and I think I may have gotten off the train at the wrong stop." She stopped herself from going any further, realizing that she had started to digress and was spouting out pointless babble.

"Oh." The girl repeated, still looking a bit confused, and smiled. "Well, come inside. I'll take you to my grandmother. "

The inside of the house looked much bigger than the outside, and the number of rooms must have doubled Lillian's expectations. The halls were lined with books, some as fresh as a newborn child and others that were ancient beyond imagination.

"Grandmother!" The girl called, leading Lillian aside through an eloquent sitting room. "Grandmother, someone's come to see you!"

"Nonsense!" Came a reply from a room not to far off, "There hasn't been any visitors since…" Her voice trailed off as she entered the room and saw Lillian.

"You!" She shouted immediately, "How did you get here? What do you want?"

"Grandmother, calm down." The girl insisted. "She's lost, and I told her we'd help. She only wants to find her way home. She can stay the night, and we can help her tomorrow. There's a storm coming and we can't send her out it that. Besides, we haven't had company in ages, and I'm beginning to get lonely."

The girl's grandmother looked rather annoyed by this, but only asked, "Is this true?"

Lillian nodded and the woman shrugged. "Very well, she may stay. But only one night, and don't touch any of my books!"

"I won't." Lillian agreed quickly, "and, Thank You."

The woman grunted in response and headed back out of sight.

"Sorry about her," her host smiled, "We're not use to strangers. I'm Maura, by the way." She moved her hand out, as if to offer it to her guest, but decided against it at the last moment, allowing it to drop awkwardly at her side.

"Lillian. But most people call me Lilly," She added as an after thought.

"Well, Lilly, welcome to our home. I hope you like to read, there's not much else here to do."

"I do," Lilly spoke honestly, " but didn't your grandmother say we couldn't read anything?"

Maura shook her head. "She said we couldn't touch any of _her_ books. She means the ones in her special collection; I'm not allowed anywhere near them. All the other books are ours, or mine. Here, I'll show you."

Maura then proceeded to give Lillian the tour of the house, which consisted of mostly sitting rooms filled with books. There were five bedrooms; one for Maura and one for her grandmother, and the remaining three were left to be used in the rare case of guests. Maura allowed Lilly to choose which one she wanted to stay in, and, loving them all equally, she decided on the one next to Maura. This was a good choice, as it turned out, for the girls soon became good friends and stayed up talking late into the night.

The other rooms consisted of a kitchen, several bathrooms, a drawing room and a study. Though the majority of the books lined the rooms surrounding the entrance, there wasn't a single room in the house that did not contain a book of some sort.

"And now we come to my grandmother's private collection." Maura announced as the approached a far corner of a beige sitting room. There stood a glass case not seven feet high containing what must have been at least 120 books, but no more than 160. A silver lock was placed about the knobs, and the white designs about the glass seemed to have collected a fair amount of dust.

"It's beautiful." Lilly admitted honestly, though she did feel a little disappointed. She'd been expecting some large jewel encrusted editions, or at least something more ostentatious than a stack of worn down paperbacks that looked as if they'd fall apart the moment you set a finger to them.

Maura looked her up and down a moment before speaking softly, "It may not have been what you were expecting, but it means a lot to my grandmother, and I think that's what makes it so beautiful to me. But you do not know her as I do. Here, come on and I'll show you my favorite collection.

The storm did not pass the following day or the one following that, and Lilly found herself spending hours quietly reading or laughing with Maura and discussing many books.

"You should read these." Maura recommended once, handing Lillian a stack of four beautifully paper bound books. "I think you'd like them. They're full of mythical creatures, unicorns, werewolves, vampires and the like."

"Brilliant." Said Lillian taking them and admiring the cover art. "Which one's the first?"

"The green one." Maura pointed. "It's not the best of the series, but it was good enough to keep me interested. I think you'd like the third one- but you really have to read the first two to understand it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Placing the books on her nightstand, Lillian stood and yawned. "I'm tired of sitting inside for so long. I wish this storm would hurry up and pass." But as she spoke the words she began to wonder if they were actually true. She was beginning to feel at home in this strange library run by a crazy old woman and her granddaughter.


	2. The storm

**AN: The only characters I own are Maura, Lilly, and the Grandmother. All others are copyright to JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, CS Lewis, and Phillip Pullman. (Wow, that's a lot of initials!) Again, I hope you enjoy. All reviews are welcome :)**

On the fourth night, Lillian awoke to a loud CRACK. Thunder roared in her ear and the house shook around her. She immediately jumped out of bed, and ran out into the hall. Maura was already there, looking just as shocked as she was.

"Did you hear that?" Lillian asked.

Maura nodded. "What was it?"

Lillian noticed she was shaking. "I figured you'd tell me."

"I don't know." From the looks of it Maura was shaking too.

The hall was nearly pitch black all around them, visible only when lightning flashed outside. The girls stood frozen for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, they heard a scream.

"Grandmother!" Maura shouted, as they both turned and fled towards the sound. It came from one of the many sitting rooms. There, on her knees in utter terror, the woman sat shaking. She was staring at her glass bookshelf, or what was left of it anyway, for it had been hit by lightning, and nearly half the books were thrown about. Two large widows had flown open, and the curtains were flapping wildly in the wind. A fire was beginning to rage where a rather unfortunate book had landed on an oil lamp.

"Grandmother!" Maura repeated running towards the woman. "Are you alright?"

"The pages!" She shouted in a crazed state, "Don't let them touch the ground!"

Lillian, ignoring the woman's absurd orders, quickly ran through the falling debris to a nearby table that was, luckily, still adorned with a glass of water. Grabbing the glass, she quickly emptied its contents over the flames. The fire now reduced to little more than an ember, she threw a large leather bound book on top of it, cutting of the flames.

"NO!" Screamed the woman, now sobbing. "The pages!"

Maura, looking unsure of herself, had obeyed the woman and caught a few fluttering pages before they touched now. She sat them neatly on the couch and tried to help her grandmother up, but was forcefully refused.

"THE PAGES!" She shrieked hysterically before mumbling and crying something incomprehensive.

"She's mad." Lillian mumbled, picking up the leather book and inspecting it before concluding it was unharmed.

Maura simply frowned and joined her friend in picking up the books that had fallen to the ground. Other than the few pages now resting safely on the couch thanks to Maura, there seemed to be none missing.

"That's odd." Remarked Lily. "I swore there were a lot more."

Maura pointed. "The window," She said going over to close it. "I saw some of them blown outside."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about them now." Lily yawned as the adrenaline of the night's events began to wear off. "They're surely ruined by now."

"No!" The woman raised her voice once again. "No, you must find them! They need help, they can't get back on their own!"

Lily opened her mouth the say something, but was interrupted when Maura suddenly gasped and pointed outside.

"Did you see that!?" She asked wildly.

Lily walked over to her. "See what?"

"Outside. It looked like-" She paused, trying to see through the heavy cascades of rain against the window. "Well, I'm not sure, but a shadow of some sort."

"It could jut be your imagination." Said Lily tiredly. "It's late, we should be asleep-"

"There it is again!" Maura grabbed Lily's arm in fright and backed away from the window. "I think- I think it saw me!"

"Calm down," Lily tried to sound comforting, but was starting to become afraid herself. "There's nothing there."

Just then there came a knock at the door. The girls jumped in surprise.

"I told you there was someone there!" Maura whispered.

Lillian started to agree, but then realized the sound had come from the other end of the house. "It's coming from the front porch. No one can move that fast."

The knock came again and Lillian moved to open the door. Maura looked as if she was about to protest, but kept quiet and followed her to the main hall.

The knocking continued, and they could make out the shape of a rather nicely dressed woman with soaking wet hair as she pressed her face against the glass lining the door. Spotting the girls she waved them over. Feeling sorry for the poor lady, they hurried to let her in from the storm.

"Well that took long enough." The woman stepped quickly inside, her short blond curls dripping water on the stone floor. Clinging tightly to her neck, there perched a golden monkey on her shoulder.

"S-sorry," Stammered Lillian at a loss for words. She realized too late that she had no reason to apologize, for they could have very well left the woman standing there all night if they wanted. A rush of cold air blew in and Lily hastily shut the door.

"What where you doing out in the storm?" Maura asked as if coming out of a trance, clearly just as surprised as Lily.

"I'm not sure." The stranger's answer seemed honest somehow, and for a moment she looked rather confused, but she quickly regained her previous manner as she added, "You are surely not the masters of this house. May I speak to the one who is?"

Maura was quick to reply. "My grandmother is in charge here, but she is currently ill and can not bit you welcome, I'm afraid. However, if you wish to stay here until the storm passes-"

"I guess I don't really have much of a choice." The woman interrupted, ringing out the bottom of her dress before taking a seat on a silver couch close by. "I don't suppose you have any tea?"

"Yes, we- we'll bring you some." Maura offered quickly, grabbing Lilly by the arm and pulling her towards the kitchen.

"Did you see that?" She whispered as soon as they'd left the room.

"See what?" Lilly asked confused, "The woman? The monkey?"

Maura shook her head. "The caped figure. It came up behind her just as you shut the door."

Lily frowned. "I don't remember seeing anything." She examined her friend's face and saw she was earnestly frightened. "But if you want, I'll look again."

"No!" Maura shouted, quickly moving between Lily and the door.

Lily began to find herself becoming annoyed. "Look, if there's someone else out there, I want to know. More than likely it's just a trick of your imagination, and I'll prove it. Then we can get fix this lady her tea and get back to bed without having to worry about anything, alright?"

Maura pondered this a moment before finally nodding. "Alright."

She stepped aside, and Lily opened the door. She looked around. The storm was howling now and the lightning flashed eerily every few seconds, but nothing could be seen through the thick rain.

"Hello!" She called, but there was no answer. "See, I told you-"

Lily stopped short as she turned to face her friend. The girl had gone cold leaving her face as pale as snow. Suddenly, an icy shiver passed through Lily and she shut the door forcefully.

"Maura!" She called as her friend fell to her knees. Lily knelt down beside her and noticed her face was back to normal. Perhaps it was only a trick of the light. "We have to get back to bed, we're starting to scare ourselves over nothing," She remarked aloud.

Maura didn't seem to hear her. She looked up and her eyes shown a fierce blue as she whispered softly, "I remember."

"Remember what?" Asked Lily.

But Maura didn't respond. Instead, she lifted herself up and quickly dusted off her dress before turning to the woman.

"Excuse me miss, but could you tell me your name?" She asked politely.

The woman smirked. "So now your manners return. I am Mrs. Coulter. And who are you might I ask?"

"I'm Maura, and this is Lily." She introduced before jumping to the next question, "Might we inquire where you are from?"

The woman smiled. "Of course. I am from Oxford. And where might we be now?"

"You don't know?" Maura muttered the words sounding more like a statement than a question.

"Excuse us." Maura bowed politely and pulled her friend back once again from the room.

"What is it now?" Lily asked in frustration.

"She's from a book." Maura looked past Lily as if lost in memory. "I remember now, those books, my grandmother's special collection. What makes them special is that they aren't like other books, you don't just read them, you can pull people out of them. Characters I mean, but they aren't characters really, the stories aren't even stories technically. They're different worlds. And those books are the passageway between our world and theirs."

She paused and looked into Lily's face, searching for something. She frowned, as if what she had seen didn't satisfy her. "Look." She began again. "All those pages that fell out tonight? If they were jolted or bumped in just the right way, everything living on them would come alive. Does that make since?"

"No, not really." Lily admitted, thinking her friend had completely lost it. "Listen, why don't you get some rest. I'll-"

Suddenly a wave of movement across the room caught their eyes. It was a piece of paper. Seeming to have been stuck between a shelf and the wall, it had just freed itself and was floating gently to the ground.

"Don't let it touch!" Maura shouted running towards it, but it was too late. The moment the words began to leave her mouth, the paper touched gently down, bouncing three times before coming to a stop.

What happened next occurred so quickly that Lilly could hardly keep track of it all. The paper glowed a bright gold and seemed to burst. Then it disappeared entirely, leaving three human figures in its place. They seemed to be a young boy, a girl, and a middle-aged man to be exact.

"What's going on?" The boy asked, getting quickly to his feet. "Where are we, how'd we get here?"

The other two stood up more slowly. The man opened his mouth as if to respond, but Maura quickly responded, "Ron?"

The boy turned at looked at her with a startled expression on his face. "Do I know you?"

"No." Maura shook her head, "But you are Ron, right? And you're Hermione and Remus?"

The others nodded. "Where's Harry?" Ron asked, as if suddenly noticing this 'Harry' person was missing.

"Was he with you just a second ago?" Maura asked suddenly worried. The boy nodded.

"Hold on-" Lilly interrupted, still confused. "Did they- where did they come from?"

"Why don't you tell us!" Ron snapped back, waving a stick threateningly in her face.

"She doesn't know what's going on. She's a muggle." Maura added and Ron looked as if he suddenly understood everything. "But tell me, was Harry with you the moment you left?"

"Yes." Hermione said matching the worry in her voice.

"That's not good." Maura glanced around the kitchen as if looking for something. "He must have come out earlier- from one of the pages that flew out the window."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked with obvious puzzlement.

"Harry's outside?" Remus asked Maura. At the same time Hermione pointed to the window and screamed.

"It's a dementor!" She said recovering from fright. "If Harry's out there-"

The three looked at one another before running down the corridor and out into the storm. Maura took off after them and called for Lilly to follow. Lilly, not given much of a choice, obliged reluctantly.

Outside the storm raged on and it had been only seconds before they were all soaked.

"Harry!" Called Ron, Hermione, and Remus starting to run in different directions.

"Stay together!" Maura shouted, and they quickly obliged.

"So, wait." Lilly finally spoke, "These people came from… a book."

"Yes. Harry Potter. And the prisoner of Azkaban, I think, but that doesn't mean anything to you does it? Well-" She stopped short as they suddenly noticed a man standing not ten feet away.

"Hello!" He called, catching sight of them as well. "Who goes there?"

"I ought to ask you that!" Maura shouted back. "For this is my home and my land that you stand on!"

The man laughed, and coming closer, the girls could now make out his features. Lilly thought he looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him. He was dark and tall with shaggy hair that was flat with water from the storm.

"You must forgive me." He remarked with a slight bow of his head, "For I did not know anyone lived in these parts."

"Where is it that you think you are?" Maura asked slowly. "Or at least, can you tell us where you last came from."

"I came from Bree," The man began, only to suddenly be interrupted by Lilly.

"Aragorn!" She shouted with recognition.

"What?" Maura asked, finding it her turn to be confused.

"Yes," the man looked surprised, "that is my name. But you must forgive me for if we've met before I'm afraid I don't-"

"Oh no, we haven't met." Lilly interrupted once again, "I've just read the Lor-"

Her voice was lost in the wind as Maura placed a hand over her mouth. "Don't mention the books." She whispered hastily. "And don't give anything away."

"But how do I... wait," Lilly began to understand, "You said you come from Bree, right, are you alone?"

The man frowned and Lilly quickly added, "We're friends, I swear, we only wish to help. But we can't do that unless-"

"No, I was not alone." Aragorn replied and Lilly kept quiet. He took notice of this and added "But that is all I will say."

"That's all you need too, for I can guess- I mean, conclude, that you were with the hobbits, were you not?"

Aragorn looked surprised and Lilly, realizing she was almost certainly correct, took a chance and insisted, "We are friends of Gandalf, and enemies of Sauron and those who defend him. Do not fear to trust us."

Maura gave Lilly a suspicious glance, and Lilly wondered why she hadn't spoken. A thought suddenly struck her.

"Don't tell me you haven't read the Lord of the Rings?" Lilly whispered.

Maura shook her head in response, and was able to do nothing but hope that her friend knew what she was talking about.

Aragorn's response came slowly, "I will take your word for the time being, but do not hold it against me if I remain somewhat suspicious for the moment."

Lilly was just thinking up a decent response to this when they heard a cry of "Aragorn!" from close by.

"Frodo!" Aragorn remarked as he turned and fled towards his friend. Lilly and Maura followed close behind.

They hadn't run nearly thirty yards when they came across Frodo and Sam, standing with their backs to one another, swords drawn.

Maura gasped, pointing, for just beyond the hobbits lingered a pair of the cloaked figures.

"Ringwraiths!" Aragorn shouted as he unsheathed his sword. He moved to attack, but suddenly a mist approached the wraiths and drove them back.

"Those are no Ringwraiths." Explained Remus as he stepped out from behind where the mist had originated. "They were dementors."

"Ringwraiths?" Hermione asked, joining Remus along with Ron and, surprisingly, Harry. "You mean like from the Lord of-"

"Right!" Maura shouted cutting her off. "Now, we better get back inside before we run into more trouble."

"But there could be more people out here!" Lilly protested, now intrigued by the thought of meeting who knows how many characters from a great number of stories.

Maura sighed. "I suppose you're right. But if anything happens to…" Her voice trailed off and she paused as if too collect her thoughts. "Alright," She said decisively, "You, Remus, and this Aragorn- is that his name?"

Lilly nodded and Maura continued, "You three can stay and look for the others, if there are any, and I'll take Harry, Ron, Hermione, and these two," she gestured towards the hobbits, "back inside. Then I'll come join you. But remember-" she droped her voice to a barely audible whisper, "There are villians in books too. If they have come here, and I pray they haven't, don't approach them. They're just as dangerous here as they are at home."

Lilly nodded gravely. "Sounds like a plan." But before they could go anywhere, there was a series of shouts to their right.

"Hey! Aragorn, is that you?" A voice called.

"Shh!" Came another.

"But look! Merry, it's Frodo and Sam!" The first voice, belonging to Pippin, carried loudly across the wind as the two hobbits came into view.

"Merry, pippin!" Aragorn commanded them, "Come here at once. Go with Sam and Frodo inside. This storm is no place for a hobbit. But-" he turned to Frodo as he spoke the last part, "be careful."

"You look taller than I'd think." Lilly remarked as Merry and Pippin joined the others. If she had remembered correctly, they shouldn't have been even four feet at most, and they looked almost five.

"Well thank you." Pippin smiled as Merry looked taken aback, "Hey, watch who you insult. We happen to be quite tall for hobbits." He remarked.

"No, I didn't mean- I'm sorry!" Stammered Lilly.

"We should probably hurry!" Called Maura over the wind which was beginning to pick up again. She turned and led the students and hobbits back to the house.

"Wait!" Shouted Harry, turning quickly around and pulling something that looked much a cloak from his bag. He handed it hastily to Remus. "You may want to use this."

Remus nodded and thanked the boy as he accepted it. Lilly watched as Harry turned and followed the others back up the hill to the house, and she turned to ask Remus what it was that Harry had given him. Only she found she didn't have to for he held it up and explained, "James' invisibility cloak. It'll be a squeeze, but we should all manage to fit under it."

They soon came across a man cloaked in white carrying a large staff. "Is that Gandalf?" Lilly whispered to Aragorn, but he shook his head.

"No, that is Saruman." Aragon drew the others to a halt, "We best stay as far from him as possible."

Lilly started to protest, but remembered Maura's words and figured it was probably best to stay away from villains if they could help it.

They continued their search for over twenty minutes, before they located the four heroes of Narnia; Lucy, Susan, Peter, and Edmund, all dressed in armor and ready for battle. Peter even came seated on a unicorn, which Lilly couldn't help but marvel at.


	3. A full house

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying it. Yes, there is much more to come. Please, keep reviewing! Let me know anything you like/dislike, any characters you want to see more/less of, any ideas you may have- and I just might be able to fit them in. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters other than Maura, Lilly, and Katrina (the Grandmother). **

After searching fruitlessly for about half an hour more, Lilly and the others decided to retire, as they all were becoming dreadfully tired and cold. They were, however, saved from dealing with confused (and most likely annoyed with being disrupted in their normal lives) wizards and hobbits, as it seemed that, while they had been away, Maura had miraculously calmed everyone down.

"I explained to them what was going on." She said, pulling her friend aside. "Without mentioning the books at least. I told them that they were all from other worlds, and that they needed to stay here until we could find the right portal to send them home, or something like that, and not to worry, because when they did get back, it would be as if no time passed at all. Which is all true, in a sense."

Lilly nodded, taking notes mentally, for she still had to fill in those who had accompanied her. "And they're all ok with it?"

Maura shrugged. "The Narnia children took it perfectly well, which isn't all that surprising. As for the others, I think they're mostly just glad to be in form the rain. I got them settled down and went to talk to Grandmother, but she was still too distraught to understand… I think. At least, what she said wasn't making any sense."

Lilly smiled sympathetically and placed her hand on Maura's shoulder. "Don't worry- it'll be fine! By the way, what happened to that unicorn?"

"It's in the basement…" The girl said distractedly, and then sighed. Lilly looked at her questioningly. "I'm sorry, it's just… I mean, we have to get them all home!"

"We will, don't worry." Lilly assured her. "But while they're here, we may as well enjoy it." She winked at Maura before entering the now crowded sitting room and addressing everyone.

From the expressions she received, it was clear her most recent companions (Aragorn and Remus) had been filled in on their current situation from acquaintances.

"Alright now, so we all have half an idea of what's going on here, and no one knows the whole thing, so I say we start by going around the room and introducing ourselves and where we're from. I'll go first. My name's Lillian Tonks, and I'm from London. That's in England. On planet Earth."

The room remained quiet as everyone stared at her. This was followed by bits of stifled laughter from the red head, and many were seen to fidget uncomfortably.

"Alright." Said Remus breaking the silence. "I'm Remus Lupin. And I'm from England as well."

It seemed the others had simultaneously decided that they had more important things to discuss, for they all began to continue their previous conversations among themselves.

"We're not in grade school." Ron muttered under his breath.

Lilly, who was rather close by, frowned.

"Well I thought it was a nice idea." Remus remarked towards her.

"You're only saying that to cheer me up." Lilly retorted.

"You're probably right." Remus smiled, "But we can forget the whole thing happened if you want."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Right. So hello, my name is Remus, what's yours?" He held out his hand.

Lilly laughed and took it gently saying "My name's Lilly. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She spent the remainder of the evening wandering about, talking to everyone, but continued to come back to Harry and his friends, as this was the one story she had never read. She wanted to know everything about their world, their lives, and could only hope she wasn't annoying them with too many questions.

Maura meanwhile slipped off to a nearby sitting room. She could still hear the voices and laughter down the hall, but the storm drowned out most of the noise and she felt she could be alone.

She sat down tiredly on a soft couch, brushing her still damp hair out of her face. Leaning against the armrest, she took an unsteady breath and struggled to keep herself from crying. So much had happened that night, and Lilly knew so little. Everyone knew so little. She shut her eyes and tried to calm down. Her hands were shaking, from fear or the cold she wasn't sure, but she was too tired to get up and grab a blanket. She soon found herself fighting to keep awake. Just as she was contemplating whether or not to get up and go to bed or to just fall asleep there, she heard someone enter the room.

It was one of the hobbits, but which one it was, she wasn't sure. "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you." He said apologetically and turned to leave.

She sighed. "No, it's alright. I was just about to leave anyway." She sat up and yawned.

"Where are you going?" He asked sounding rather surprised.

Maura blinked. "Just up stairs. Oh, I'm not leaving, as in going away, if that's what you meant."

"Good." Said the hobbit. "You're the only one who has any idea what's going on here."

Maura frowned. "I'm afraid I don't have much of one." She looked as if she was about to say more, but stopped short and leaned back against the couch.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded. Then turned to him slowly, "What's your name?"

He looked for a moment as if he was unsure how to answer. "Frodo," He decided on at last. "And may I ask yours?"

"Maura." She smiled, but it was short lived. "You can take a seat if you want."

Frodo sat down on the couch across from Maura as she bit her tongue. "I'm not really sure where to begin," She admitted, realizing how difficult it was to tell someone from an entire different world something as simple as a life story. "But I guess, well, you're from somewhere, right? That's a stupid question, we're all from somewhere; but you have a home and everything, right?"

"Yes." Frodo replied.

"That was rhetorical. But anyway, this home, where you come from, you have your town, and then maybe a city or state, and then you have… the world."

Frodo nodded. "I lived in a town called Hobbiton, in the Shire, which was all part of Middle Earth."

"Right. So this middle earth," Maura paused a moment to make sure she'd gotten it right, before continuing, "is where you come from. It's where everyone comes from. Before today, you'd never met anyone who had not lived there, and to even imagine someone from somewhere else seemed absurd, did it not?" She paused again, waiting for Frodo to nod in understanding. When he had done so, she continued, "I had a home too. A 'middle earth,' or practically the equivalent, and one day I found myself here instead. This part you understand, surely, because, well, it happened the same to you. But instead of helping me get back, the woman here told me that my world had been destroyed. That, not only could I never go back, but everything, everyone, no longer existed."

Frodo looked alarmed and opened his mouth to speak, but Maura quickly guessed his thoughts and added, "Don't worry, your world still exists. There are many portals for middle-earth, whereas there was, unfortunately, only one for mine. But- and I probably shouldn't be telling you this- but, we don't have much time. Something here isn't right. When I first came, this place was a palace, a safe-heaven that made me feel at home almost immediately. But as time passed, it began to change. I even began to change. Until I saw that dementor tonight, I'd forgotten everything before the past few years. All I could remember was time spent here, with all these stupid books."

Frodo looked lost in thought. "But what could make such a change?" He said at last.

Maura sighed. "I don't know, but I suspect my grandmother has some ideas about it. She's in bed for the night, but tomorrow I'll be sure to ask her everything. If anyone knows what to do, it's her."

They sat in silence for a moment before Frodo asked. "What was it like? Your World, I mean."

"To loose it?" Maura asked confused.

Frodo shook his head, "No, that's not what I meant. The actual world, what was it like? I was just curious as to what you remember- what the trees were like, what color their leaves were… if you even had trees," He added as an afterthought.

Maura laughed. "Yeah, we had trees. But they weren't much different than the ones here. Bigger maybe, and perhaps a bit more gray, now that you mention it."

The two of them proceeded to trade stories of their homelands until at last they were interrupted by Sam who had came to find his master. It was then that Maura realized how tired she had become, and the three of them went back to join the others.

"Are you alright?" Lilly asked as Maura re-entered the room. "You look exhausted!"

"Just tired." Maura yawned.

"Go get some sleep." Said Lilly softly, "I'll look after everyone. They're so much fun, you know, talking to and all, who ever would have thought that I'd actually get a chance to meet Peter and Lucy, or Aragorn for that matter!"

Maura forced a smile before taking Lilly's advice and retiring to bed. Lilly returned her attention to the guests. The 'Harry Potter gang', as she now referred to them, was conversing in a corner along with Aragorn and Peter. The remaining cast of Narnia was sitting on the floor a few feet away; listening intently to a story Lucy was telling them. The four hobbits sat across the room and looked as if they were about to fall asleep. Sam and Frodo had their eyes closed and Merry and Pippin were complaining they were hungry.

"I can fix you something if you want." Lilly offered, approaching the two starving hobbits.

"Like food?" Pippin asked standing up suddenly very awake.

"Of course she means food, Pippin!" Merry said joining him.

"Oh. Are you the cook?" asked Pippin.

"Heavens no." Replied Lilly taken aback, "But here we don't really need cooks. We have food that you can eat with out much preparation at all. Here, I'll show you."

Lilly then led them to the kitchen where, much to there amazement and delight, they were shown a refrigerator.

"Now don't just stand there with the door open!" Lilly shouted as she headed back to the common room. "You'll use up all the magic!" She hadn't bothered to explain to them about electricity, instead throwing together something about 'store-bought magic.'

She took a seat among the group in the center of the room, where everyone was listening to Peter and Aragorn converse over battle tactics. Harry and Ron threw in a word every now and then, and Hermione simply rolled her eyes. She stood up after a minute and went to go look at the books. Remus sat quietly on the outskirts half asleep.

"There are bedrooms upstairs you know. If you want to sleep." She added quickly, trying not to blush.

He smiled. "No, I'm fine for now. I can always just borrow the couch. Believe me, I've slept in worse places."

Lilly took this as a signal of dismissal and tried not to feel disappointed as she went to sit next to Susan and listened to the end of Lucy's story.


	4. Katrina

**AN: Sorry it took so long to get this one up. I hope it's worth the wait! As always, I appreciate any reviews, ideas, criticisms, etc. Hope you enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters other than Maura, Lilly, and Katrina (the Grandmother).**

The sun was shining brightly through the windows by the time Maura returned. She was feeling much more her usual self; the color had returned to her face, and all signs of stress appeared to be diminished. She smiled at her reflection, noting the changes, before trotting down the stairs to the others.

Nearly everyone was settled down by now, sitting silently in a corner or whispering quietly to those next to them.

Maura found Lilly sitting with Hermione at the far end of the room, discussing some book Maura had never read.

Lilly looked up when she approached, and gave a warm smile. "Oh, Good Morning, Maura."

"Good Morning." She replied. Then, upon noticing how tired her friend looked, Maura hastily added, "You can go to bed if you want."

Lilly laughed, "No, I'm alright. There's enough excitement in this house to keep me up for weeks. Besides, it's nearly ten o'clock. There's no way I could fall asleep now, even if I wanted too."

"There wasn't any trouble, was there?" She tried to keep the hesitation from her voice, but it managed to creep in anyway.

"Oh, no, none at all." Lilly quickly assured her.

Maura relaxed a little and took a seat across from them, as Lily continued, "Everyone's kept to themselves, more or less. Most of them have been sleeping."

"It's true." Hermione added, shutting the book in her lap. "Ron's been snoring so loud we had to drag him to another room."

Maura's eyes widened, and she suddenly snapped, "What are you reading?"

Hermione looked startled for a moment before surprising Maura with a smile. "Oh this?" She said holding up a copy of _Twilight_. "It isn't Harry Potter if that's what you were wondering."

Maura opened her mouth and, too surprised to know what to say, shut it again.

Lilly laughed. "We're one step ahead of you this time. Last night, Hermione went off to look in the library. I didn't think much of it at the time, but just when I started to drift off, I suddenly remembered those books you had lent me the other day. The boy on the cover looked like Harry, and of course, the title came rushing back to me. There was no need to worry, of course, for Hermione was looking in the library, and those were in my room. But I was still worried for some reason I can't explain. So I got up and grabbed every copy of the _Lord of the Rings_ and _Narnia_ I could find, as well as one additional set of _Harry Potter_ which must have belonged to your grandmother."

"I helped her." Hermione jumped in, "Don't be alarmed, I didn't read anything. I already knew about the _Lord of the Rings_ and _Narnia _of course, I'd read them when I was little. So after seeing everyone here, it only made since for us to be from a book too."

Maura shook her head, "Hermione, you really are brilliant."

The girl blushed and looked away before gaining the courage to look back and ask, "These books then, are they the portals you were talking about?"

"Yes." Maura answered realizing the girl had already figured out too much for her to simply ignore the question. She sighed, "But that's all I know. Don't tell anyone- I think it's best the others don't realize their lives are written out here."

Hermione nodded. "I understand, and I won't tell them."

"Good." With a nod of her head Lilly concluded the conversation and began a new one, "Now, the only copies of the books we didn't lock up are the ones from your grandmothers collection. We tried, but the door was locked and she wouldn't let us in."

"She just kept shouting hysterically." Hermione said, "If I hadn't known any better I'd have thought she was under a spell."

Maura sighed. "I guess I better go and see if I can talk to her. Do you want to come too, Lilly?"

Lilly jumped up excitedly, but sat back down as she asked, "But then who's going to keep an eye on everyone?"

"Oh, come on," Maura laughed, "We'll only be just down the hall. I think we can trust everyone for five minutes. But, if it'll make you feel better, I suppose Hermione can be in charge." She nodded to the girl, who beamed at the responsibility, "Come and get us if anything gets out of hand."

"Very well then." Lilly once again stood up and followed Maura back down the hall to the closed door.

"Grandmother?" Maura called as she tried the door and found it still locked.

There was no reply.

She knocked hard against the wood and shouted, "Grandmother!" once again. "It's me, Maura. Let me in!"

The room remained silent for a moment, before the sound of footsteps could clearly be heard, and at last the click of a door being unlocked.

Maura, after waiting long enough to realize her grandmother wasn't going to, pushed open the door.

Mrs. Katrina stood there looking older and more fragile then ever.

"Grandmother, are you alright?" Maura asked softly, concern taking control of her voice.

The woman shook her head. "Nothing will ever be alright again. It's happened. It's all happening all over." She swayed and Maura held out an arm to steady her. The woman blinked. "Thank you my dear," she said turning to her and, as if seeing her for the first time in years, "Oh, Maura. Poor Maura, I'm so sorry." She lifted a hand to the surprised girls cheek. "I can't fix it, I can't do anything. I'm so sorry."

"What's she talking about?" Lilly asked suddenly switching her gaze from Katrina to Maura.

Maura helped the old woman to sit against the couch. "I think I know." Maura said kneeling next to her grandmother.

"You were the one who pulled me out, weren't you?" She said softly.

Katrina nodded, the tears in her eyes beginning to break free and trickle down her aged face. Maura sighed and turned to Lilly.

"I haven't told you everything. I didn't know everything until just now- I still don't think I have the whole picture, but, well, last night, when I saw that dementor, I said I remembered."

Lilly nodded. "And then you explained to me about the books."

"Right." Maura continued. "But what I didn't tell you was that I too came from a book. Years ago, so long that I had completely forgotten until last night, Katrina pulled me from my story and I never got returned."

Lilly looked astonished, "But- but you're real. Right?"

"Of course I'm real, we're all real. I already told you, the books are portals, or at least that's how I like to think of them. Everyone in them is real, just as real as you."

"So we can put you back then, when we put back the others?" Lilly reasoned.

Katrina shook her head. "No, not Maura. Her world was destroyed."

Lilly gasped. Maura simply nodded and looked down. "How?" Lilly managed to spit out.

"I destroyed it." Katrina closed her eyes before continuing, "I hoped to avoid this day, but deep down I always knew it was coming. I was book keeper once." She opened her eyes and her face seemed to revert back years at a time as she spoke. "I still am technically. But at this time I was young. It was my job as bookkeeper to read stories and pull out the heroes at the end of their journey. When a great king died in a battle, or a young woman sacrificed herself to save a village, I would pull out their souls and give them a chance to create a new life. For that is the power of a bookkeeper, to keep the books intact and reward those inside them. I could give a poor servant boy the chance to become a wealthy nobleman in a new life, or allow a redeeming villain to start over fresh with this change of heart.

'The problem, however, comes about when a character does not die, for he or she still plays a part in that world. Or, saddest of all, I once came across a spirited and kind-hearted girl who, in the end, was possessed by an evil spirit. I couldn't save her, for her soul was lost before she died, and pulling her out early would have ruined the entire world. So is the price of a bookkeeper. Each is able to make their own choice about a character, but there are guidelines, which under no circumstance should be ignored."

Here she paused and her eyes seemed to wander, focusing on something long ago. "I did just that, ignoring the guidelines, and it was the biggest mistake of my life. I fell in love with a book, the name I will not tell for Maura's sake, but it told the story of a young man from another land. This man, as nearly all men do, fell in love with a woman. I wanted to meet him so badly, but the story's ending did not allow it. So I decided, what's the harm in bringing him here for an hour? Just long enough for a short chat. And if I was to bring him here in the middle of the story, why not before he met the love of his life? I sure as anything didn't want to waste that hour talking about her. So I chose the page carefully, picking a time when Zane, for that was his name, had already grown to the man I admired, but before he met this woman. I was in such a hurry to get the timing exactly right, I completely overlooked the fact that his sister was on the page as well, and when I read the spell to release him, I accidently brought her here as well."

"Maura!" Lilly exclaimed as she caught on.

The woman nodded. "Maura was asleep at the time, and I thought it best for her to remain so while her brother and I conversed. However, I hadn't planned to fall in love with Zane, or for him to fall in love with me. I asked him to stay, thinking what would it matter if he went back days, if not years, later- for time passes differently here. If I sent him back to the same page 100 years later, it would be as if he'd never left. Or so I thought naively. Anyway, everything had worked out perfectly as far as I was concerned and I got a bit careless. I had left the book lying out and Zane must have found it. For I awoke one morning to find him gone: he had re-entered the story. However, Maura had not. Whether it was this, the fact he read his own story, or simply our love that changed things, I'll never know. But you can imagine my horror when I found the entire story had changed overnight. No longer was he a noble warrior, but a fierce and terrible ruler. The heroes turned to villains one by one and nothing could stop them. The world had been corrupted, and by my hand no doubt."

Her breath grew heavy, and her eyes blazed with passion, "So I took the book and burned it. It was the last copy and so, by destroying it, the world and everything in it ceased to exist."

The room was silent and the birds could be heard chirping loudly by the window. Katrina sighed. "I'd never meant for any of this to happen, you must understand. I felt so guilty I refused to act as bookkeeper any longer. I gave up reading entirely for a while, but with nothing here but books, switched to only reading only for fun, and only light-hearted stories with happy endings. My powers began to fade. I've grown old, and I fear this place is no longer the sanctuary it used to be. Until you came, this house existed in another plane of reality- invisible to the naked eye. As I have withered my powers must have too, until it brought about this final test- giving me not one, but many characters, all out of place, waiting for me to send them back." She laughed bitterly and Maura and Lilly exchanged fearful glances.

"Do not worry." The woman recovered, standing up with a new strength about her, "This is my task. Go, have fun with your new friends- but don't grow to close, for I will find a way to return them no later than a fortnight."

She smiled at the girls before waving them out the door. "I need peace and quiet, do me a favor and give that too me now."

The door shut, leaving Maura and Lilly alone in the hall.

"I'm sorry Maura," Lilly said at last, "I didn't know you were- well, from a book and all. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know, I suppose you were busy, and like I said I didn't remember until last night. Don't tell the other's though, I think it's best if they don't know." She laughed. "I've been saying that a lot lately, first to Frodo, then to Hermione and now you. Before you know it, there will be no one left to tell anything to!""

Lilly started to nod then stopped and wondered, "Wait, Frodo? What did you tell him?"

"What I told you just now, basically, about being from another world and all. But that was pretty much it." She said trying to remember.

"When was this?" Lilly asked surprised. "Where was I?"

"Last night. You were- oh, I don't know, running around talking to everyone I suppose. But anyway, Katrina seems to have things under control now so I don't think we'll have to worry about keeping any secrets much longer." She smiled. "Let's do as she says and go enjoy the company."

Lilly returned her smile and they went back to the main room much more cheerful than before.

The second they left the hall, there came a loud CRASH from the kitchen, taking everyone by surprise.

"What was that?" Asked Lily suddenly.

"I don't know." Said Hermione jumping up. The three girls ran quickly to find none other than Pippin at the scene of the crime.

Apparently he had discovered the microwave, and not knowing how to use it properly, had managed to explode a ceramic vase.

"Pippin!" Lily cried in a scolding manner, turning quickly to Maura, half afraid the girl would murder him for such a thing. Instead, she managed to burst out in laughter, surprising everyone.

"I guess we ought to be more careful." She said at last regaining her manner. "Here, let me show you how to use that."

Maura then went on to explain the concept of a microwave with various comments and exclamations from Lily and Hermione. By the end of it all Pippin still seemed entirely confused, and they agreed that it was off limits to him, but if he ever feels the need to use it he could ask one of the "big people" to work the machine for him.


End file.
